A rolling element bearing assembly carries a load by placing round elements between two members, such as inner and outer rings. The rolling movements of the rolling elements enable the two rings to rotate relative to one another with reduced resistance and sliding. Two types of assemblies are roller bearing assemblies and ball bearing assemblies. A roller bearing assembly uses cylinder-shaped rolling elements, while ball bearing assemblies use spherical-shaped rolling elements. In general, roller bearing assemblies have a higher radial load capacity as compared to ball bearing assemblies.
Design considerations for roller bearing assemblies include manufacture, assembly, installation, and operation. Assembly, in particular, may be difficult. A full complement of individual rolling elements must be arranged between the two rings. It is further advantageous if the assembled roller bearing assembly is non-separable to facilitate installation and operation. Conventionally, assembly of roller bearing assemblies required cages or other types of retention mechanisms and/or resulted in separable assemblies or assemblies that experienced undesirable issues.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved full-complement roller bearing assembly that is non-separable after assembly. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.